The Senna film

If you follow Formula 1 online, it has been absolutely impossible to avoid the hype. Films about Formula 1 do not get made often. It is highly unusual for so much footage to have been prised out of Bernie Ecclestone. When you factor in that the film is about Ayrton Senna, a driver who has […]

Why I am finding F1 less gripping in 2011

There have been four grands prix in 2011 so far, and they have been widely hailed as a great success. There is no doubt that the races have been action-packed, with something always going on. But I wasn’t feeling it quite as much as many others were. I thought the Chinese Grand Prix was okay. […]

Force India step up in the tight midfield battle

It’s time to eat humble pie. Before the season began I wrote a couple of posts outlining my pessimism for the prospects of Force India and their new driver Paul di Resta. I think it’s now fair to say that I was wrong on this! The “midfield battle” for sixth place in the Constructors’ Championship […]

When will something be done about flying wheels?

One of the most worrying trends in F1 is the increasing tendency of wheels and tyres to come loose and fly off. Since refuelling was banned for the start of the 2010 season, the speed of tyre changes has become easily the most crucial element of a pitstop. With the greater number of pitstops this […]

Hamilton’s major weaknesses exposed in Malaysia

Whether you like or dislike the philosophy behind Pirelli’s tyres, which have been designed to be dodgy, there is one undenable benefit. It leaves those that cannot manage their tyres exposed. Lewis Hamilton has long had a repuation for ruining his tyres too quickly. Up to this point, it has only bitten him once in […]

Why is so much bodywork falling off?

While it is by no means unheard of for pieces of bodywork to come off an F1 car from time to time, there has already been quite a lot of it this season. In fact, after one and a half race weekends, I can think of four big bodywork failures. Firstly, there was Kamui Kobayashi’s […]

What might have been for Timo Glock

I wonder what Timo Glock is thinking just now. Following an impressive early career, and after showing flashes of talent at Toyota for two years, Glock faced a difficult decision prior to the 2010 season. Renault or Virgin? Once upon a time it was a tough choice His first option was to take a risk […]

Has Barrichello hit the ceiling?

It can’t be easy being the oldest driver in F1. Just ask the BBC’s commentators. I remember Martin Brundle once describing how the fact that he was the oldest driver in the 1996 season caught up with him and began to define him as a driver. Despite having a reasonable season, by the following year […]

Why did McLaren rely on Race Control to tell them the obvious?

One of the most incredible moments of the Australian Grand Prix was when Jenson Button gave up trying to overtake Felipe Massa properly and cut the chicane at turn 12 instead. It’s easy to see why Button became impatient — he was clearly faster than Massa for several laps, but just couldn’t quite find a […]